<SCP  2*/623 


The  Ghinese 

FROM 


A CHRISTIAN  STANDPOINT. 


THE  CHINESE 


FROM 


A C hristian  Standpoint. 


A PAPER  READ  BEFORE  THE 

PRESBYTERIAN  MINISTERIAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  PHILA- 
DELPHIA, APRIL  28,  1879, 


REY.  J.  L.  RUSSELL, 

Pastor  of  Spring  Garden  Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

Presbyterian  Printing  Company,  No.  1510  Chestnut  Street. 

1879. 


NOTE. 


This  paper  was  originally  prepared  without  any 
thought  of  publication  in  printed  form.  Its  essential 
ideas  were  first  presented  in  a Missionary  Ad- 
dress to  the  Spring  Garden  Presbyterian  Church. 
It  is  put  into  print  only  at  the  earliest  request  of  many 
members  of  the  Church , and,  also,  many  members  of 
the  Ministerial  Association. 


THE  CHINESE 

FROM 

A CHRISTIAN  STANDPOINT. 


“ These  from  the  Land  of  Sinim.”  Isa.  49.  12. 

Of  the  questions  of  the  day,  by  no  means  the 
least  important  is,  “ What  shall  we  do  Avith  the 
Chinese  ?” 

As  a nation,  we  have  to  do  with  this  question  in 
all  its  aspects,  social,  political,  religious.  We  have 
the  strange  spectacle,  in  an  age  abounding  in  strange 
sights,  of  the  most  ancient  historic  people  seeking 
companionship  with  the  youngest  nation  on  the 
globe,  and  the  most  exclusive  people,  claiming  no 
relationships,  ethnic  or  moral,  shutting  themselves 
up  for  centuries,  within  their  own  land,  by  walls, 
the  strength  and  magnitude  of  which  read  like 
some  Eastern  fable,  and  shutting  out  all  foreigners 
on  peril  of  their  lives,  suddenly  swarming  out,  like 
bees  on  a June  morning,  from  an  overcrowded  hive, 


4 


and  taking  flight  across  the  sea  to  this  New  World, 
where  dwell  a people  the  very  genius  of  whose 
national  existence  leads  them  to  break  down  all 
barriers  of  bigotry,  superstition,  caste,  and  des- 
potism. 

Now  what  are  to  be  the  relations  of  the  two 
orders  of  civilization  that  stand  face  to  face  on  our 
Western  coast?  War  or  peace?  Bitter  conflict,  or 
helpful  coalition?  Will  the  Old  overrun  and 
trample  out  the  New  ? Some  there  are  who  regard 
such  a contingency  as  neither  impossible  nor  remote. 
Is  there  danger,  as  some  affirm,  that  unlimited 
privileges  of  immigration  will  result,  a quarter  of  a 
century  hence,  in  a strong  Chinese  province  on  the 
Pacific  slope  ? Or  is  there  strength  and  vitality  in 
our  young  Christian  and  American  ideas  and  in- 
stitutions to  transform  and  revitalize  that  hoary, 
wrinkled  civilization  that  has  not  changed  its 
customs,  it;?  costumes,  or  its  creeds  for  thirty  cen- 
turies or  more  ? 

There  are  so  many  aspects  in  which  this  subject 
presents  itself  that  we  are  bound  to  take  no  low 
and  unworthy  standpoint ; to  have  no  narrow  and 
one-sided  views ; to  wear  no  stained  goggles  of 
partisan  judgment  or  social  prejudice.  The  very 
gravity  and  magnitude  of  this  question  demand  of 


5 


us  that  we  look  at  it  in  a large,  hearty,  healthy, 
fearless  way ; and  this  alone  is  worthy  of  American 
citizens  and  Christians. 

Our  prospect  is  a long,  broad  one ! First  away 
yonder  to  the  farthest  boundary  of  our  continent ; 
then  out  through  the  Golden  Gate,  in  the  track  of 
the  Pacific  steamships  sailing  out  of  the  sunset  into 
the  sunrise  to  their  anchorage  in  the  Bay  of  Yeddo. 
Now  let  the  line  of  vision  be  northward,  until  it 
strikes  the  mouth  of  the  Amoor.  Follow  down  the 
coast-line  to  the  Bay  of  Tonquin ; thence  northwest 
along  the  trend  of  the  Himalayas,  across  the  foot 
of  the  Celestial  range;  northeast  along  the  snowy 
summits  of  the  Giant  Atlai  to  the  sources  of  the 
Amoor,  and  down  its  ever-widening  current  to  the 
sea.  Within  that  line  of  coast,  mountain,  and  river 
(twelve  thousand  miles  long)  four  hundred  to  five 
hundred  millions  of  our  fellow-men  live, — one-third, 
at  least,  of  the  entire  population  of  the  globe, — 
whom  we  must  count  in  when  we  propose  to  our- 
selves “ the  Chinese  question.” 

It  may  seem  a long  way  to  the  home  of  this 
strange  people  ; yet  in  the  facilities  of  international 
travel  and  commerce,  in  the  rapid  movements  of 
immigration,  in  the  providence  of  God,  in  the  sym- 
pathies and  needs  of  a common  nature,  in  the  great 


6 


work  of  Christian  missions,  China  and  the  United 
States  are  next-door  neighbors. 

I.  CHINA  IN  PROPHECY. 

Let  us,  first,  as  Christian  men,  take  our  observa- 
tions from  the  standpoint  of  prophecy.  Do  the 
Scriptures  cast  any  light  on  this  question  ? Does 
the  Bible  recognize  the  Chinese  either  historically 
or  prophetically?  In  the  forty-ninth  chapter  of 
Isaiah  the  ultimate  gathering  of  all  nations  to 
Christ  is  not  only  foretold  in  a general  way,  but 
described  in  specific  statements.  God  says  to  Christ, 
“ I will  also  give  thee  for  a light  to  the  Gentiles, 
that  Thou  mayst  be  my  salvation  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth.”  . . . 

“Behold,  these  shall  come  from  far;  and,  lo, 
these  from  the  north  and  from  the  west ; and  these 
from  the  land  of  Sinim.” 

Four  directions  seem  to  be  here  indicated.  Of 
two,  the  north  and  the  west,  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
The  outlook  of  the  prophet  being  from  Palestine, 
presumptively  the  two  other  expressions,  “ from 
far  ” and  “ the  land  of  Sinim,”  would  indicate  the 
south  and  the  east.  The  expression  “ from  far” 
gives  such  a narrow  surface  upon  which  to  prose- 
cute our  inquiries,  that  we  leave  it  with  the  single 


7 


remark,  that  Christ  describes  the  Queen  of  Sheba 
as  “ the  Queen  of  the  South,  who  came  from  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  to  hear  the  wisdom  of 
Solomon,” — a fact  which  may  or  may  not  identify 
the  countries  lying  to  the  south  as  the  “ from  far  ” 
of  the  prophet. 

But  we  have  more  light  on  “ the  land  of  Sinim.” 
Sinim  has  as  its  root,  Sin;  “im”  is  the  plural  sign. 
But  the  word  “ Sin,”  in  one  of  four  forms, — Sin,  Tsin, 
Jin,  and  Chin, — -is  the  universal  designation  of  the 
Chinese  in  the  Sanscrit  language,  the  mother-tongue 
of  Asia.  And  with  the  termination  “a,”  Sina  or 
China,  the  country  inhabited  by  the  Chinese,  was 
known  certainly  from  a very  remote  antiquity  in 
Southern  and  Western  Asia.  At  the  beginning  of 
the  Christian  era,  Claudius  Ptolemy,  the  great 
Egyptian  geographer,  and  the  unknown  author  of 
“ Periplus  of  the  Erythraean  Sea,”  speak  of  Sinae 
and  Thinae, — referring  evidently  to  the  Chinese. 

The  Chinese  never  called  their  land  Sina  or 
China,  and  it  has  been  a question  how  the  name 
originated.  They  call  their  land  “ Tchung-Kwe,” 
or  “the  empire  at  the  centre  of  the  earth,” — the 
possible  source  of  the  Boston  “ hub  ” idea. 

Some  have  derived  the  name  China  from  a dy- 
nasty, “ Tzin,”  which  came  to  the  throne  about 


8 


247  b.c.  But  Lassen  says  the  name  was  in  use  as 
early  as  1100  B.c.,  and  identifies  it  as  the  name  of  a 
race — Sinse — a feudal  people  in  the  western  provinces 
of  China — with  whom  the  people  of  India  and  Persia 
came  into  contact,  and  yet  beyond  whose  mountain 
homes  they  could  not  pass ; hence  they  gave  their 
name  to  the  “ terra  incognita  ” beyond. 

Many  of  the  best  and  most  competent  scholars  of 
language,  as  Gesenius,  Calmet,  Winer,  Langles, 
Lassen,  and  Neuman,  consider  it  settled,  on  philo- 
logical grounds,  that  “the  land  of  Sinim”  and 
China  are  one  and  the  same. 

But  if  it  be  objected  that  the  Jews  themselves, 
an  exclusive  people,  could  have  no  knowledge  of 
this  far-off  exclusive  people, — that  Isaiah  could  have 
no  knowledge  of  them  thus  to  write, — we  beg  to 
suggest — 

1.  That  God  here  speaks.  Inspiration  is  a suffi- 
cient explanation  of  the  use  of  a name  of  which  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  Divine  Spirit  may  have  had  no 
knowledge.  God  knew  the  Chinese,  if  Isaiah  did 
not. 

But  we  are  not  shut  up  to  this. 

2.  The  Jews  might  have  known  of  the  existence 
of  the  great  Chinese  empire  by  the  international 
trade  kept  up  by  Solomon’s  caravans,  or  by  means 


9 


of  Solomon’s  navy  coming  into  contact  with  mer- 
chants of  India. 

Or  the  Jews  might  have  learned  of  the  Chinese 
through  the  Egyptians.  In  many  ways  Egypt 
(ancient)  and  China  suggest  each  other,  in  arts, 
utensils,  implements,  and  habits  of  life.  Kitto  says, 
“ China  is  the  dead  Egypt  brought  back  to  life.” 
That  there  were  commercial  relations  between  Egypt 
and  China  at  an  early  date  would  seem  to  be  in- 
dicated by  the  fact  that  in  the  monuments  of 
Thebes,  a city  that  began  to  decay  a thousand  years 
before  Christ,  are  found  porcelain  vessels  with 
Chinese  inscriptions.  (Rawlinson’s  Ancient  Egyp- 
tians, iii.,  108). 

That  this  view'  of  Isaiah’s  prophecy  is  the  correct 
one,  the  majority  of  Bible  interpreters  agree.  It 
has  the  weight  of  such  names  as  Hitzig,  Beck, 
Umbriet,  Hendewerk,  Knobel,  Hahn,  Birk,  Steir, 
Lange,  Delitszch,  Jamieson,  Faussett,  and  Brown, 
“ The  Bible  Commentary  of  the  English  Bishops,” 
and  almost  the  entire  German  critical  school. 
Barnes,  in  the  earlier  editions  of  his  commentary 
on  Isaiah,  controverts  this  view,  but  acknowledges 
in  the  last  and  revised  edition  that  he  was  con- 
vinced of  its  correctness.  Kitto  and  Alexander 
both  pronounce  strongly  in  its  favor,  and  say,  sub- 


10 


stantially,  “that  it  solves  all  difficulties;  satisfies 
the  claims  of  philology  and  history  both ; meets  the 
requisitions  of  the  text  and  context ; is  accepted  by 
the  most  independent  schools  of  interpretation; 
opens  up  a glorious  field  for  the  work  of  the 
Christian  Church,  and  is  a safe,  true  view.” 

What  vantage-ground  this  prophecy  gives  us  in 
approaching  the  Chinese  question  to-day  ! 

Jerusalem,  the  capital  of  God’s  chosen  nation, 
and  Pekin,  the  capital  of  China,  lie  between  the 
same  great  lines  of  latitude,  30°  and  40°  north.  A 
line  drawn  eastward  from  the  spot  where  Christ’s 
cross  was  planted  would  cut  through  the  very 
heart  of  the  Chinese  empire.  And  seven  centuries 
before  Christ  was  born,  God  bade  his  servant  write 
down  these  words, — that  this  gospel  of  Christ  should 
send  its  light  north,  west,  south,  and  east.  That 
promise  is  in  part  fulfilled.  Yonder,  to  the  north, 
among  the  Germanic  races  and  the  snowy  Russias  ; 
to  the  west,  along  the  Mediterranean,  to  the  an- 
cient seats  of  art  and  literature ; to  the  Islands  of 
Britain,  across  the  sea  to  this  New  World,  the 
gospel  has  already  gone  with  irresistible  power  ; and 
now  it  goes  forth  to  the  south,  to  the  far-off  nations, 
that  wait  by  the  long-hidden  sources  of  the  Nile,  in 
the  heart  of  Africa  ; and  yonder  to  the  east,  where 


11 


the  strange  “ people  of  Sinim  ” dwell,  shut  in  by 
mountains  and  seas,  by  gigantic  walls  of  masonry, 
and  by  more  impenetrable  walls  of  reserve  and  ex- 
clusion. God’s  eye  has  been  on  China  in  all  these 
ages.  His  hand  is  dividing  her  mountains  and 
opening  gates  in  her  walls  and  breaking  down  her 
icy  barriers  to  let  his  glorious  Gospel  in,  and 
his  voice  calls  the  Church  to  the  most  stupendous 
work  Christian  faith  has  ever  essayed.  And  what 
if  the  peculiar  mission  of  the  Church  of  Christ  in 
this  youngest  of  nations  be  to  bring  this  most 
ancient  people  into  the  “Kingdom  of  Heaven!” 
What  if  that  light,  brightest  “ that  ever  shone  on 
sea  or  land,”  the  light  of  life,  must  be  reflected 
from  our  lakes  and  rivers  and  mountain-sides  into 
the  heart  of  that  great  empire,  with  its  masses  of 
human  beings,  whose  very  number  wearies  the 
mind,  whose  ignorance  of  Christ  awakens  sympathy, 
and  the  possibility  of  whose  salvation  inspires  with 
hope  and  zeal  every  living  Christian  heart. 

II.  CERTAIN  LEADING  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE 

CHINESE  WHICH  MUST  BE  TAKEN  INTO  ACCOUNT 

IN  DETERMINING  OUR  ATTITUDE  TO  THEM. 

1.  Their  national  antiquity. — The  Chinese  tradi- 
tions claim  a fabulous  backward  stretch  of  national 


12 


existence ; but,  without  attaching  any  significance  to 
them,  we  find  abundant  proof  of  a very  remote 
origin.  In  the  writings  of  Confucius,  500  b.c.,  the 
history  of  China  is  traced,  by  compilations  from 
books  which  he  found  in  existence,  from  a point 
contemporaneous  with  (as  it  would  seem)  the  dis- 
persion of  nations  consequent  upon  the  “ confusion 
of  tongues.”  It  is  idle  to  speculate,  as  it  is  impos- 
sible to  know,  concerning  the  beginnings  of  this 
people.  Their  own  histories  are  lost  in  the  misty 
darkness  of  the  ages.  But  of  one  thing  we  may  be 
sure,  that  if  not  the  oldest  living  race,  there  is  none 
which  may  successfully  dispute  the  claim  of  an- 
tiquity with  the  Chinese.  Compared  with  theirs,  our 
lineage  and  civilization  are  of  yesterday,  and  have 
the  smell  of  fresh  paint. 

Their  national  antiquity  has  doubtless  had  much 
to  do  with  fixing  their  customs  and  usages  in  per- 
manent forms.  Their  life  is  the  crystallization  of 
centuries,  and,  being  entirely  free  from  the  attrition 
of  outside  forces  or  the  solvents  of  change  that 
enter  into  our  civilization,  keeps  its  original  forms. 

2.  Intelligence. — In  this  feature  the  Chinese  chal- 
lenge respect.  They  are  a literary  people,  with 
classics  that  have  required  ages  for  their  develop- 
ment. Their  historical  and  poetical  works  are 


13 


immense.  Their  encyclopedias  are  well-nigh  end- 
less, running  up  into  hundreds  of  volumes.  A 
work  on  topography  alone,  the  most  elaborate, 
perhaps,  in  existence,  numbers  three  hundred  and 
fifty-six  volumes.  A digest  or  abridged  encyclo- 
pedia of  their  books,  from  the  twelfth  to  the  seven- 
teeth  centuries,  has  been  prepared,  which  embraces 
between  five  and  six  thousand  volumes.  In  the 
corridors  of  the  temple  of  Confucius,  at  Pekin,  the 
substance  of  their  principal  classics  may  be  seen 
carved  on  massive  stone  slabs.  The  art  of  printing 
was  known  in  China  nine  hundred  years  earlier 
than  in  Europe.  Its  invention  bears  the  date  of 
593  a.d.,  or  three  years  earlier  than  Augustine 
came  into  the  British  Islands  to  teach  and  preach 
Christianity. 

The  Chinese  invented  rude  but  capable  astro- 
nomical instruments  at  a very  early  date. 

They  made  use  of  the  mariner’s  compass  at  least 
four  hundred  years  before  Christ.  Their  historical 
works  claim  that  it  was  invented  by  one  of  their  em- 
perors two  thousand  years  earlier  still.  They 
certainly  knew  its  uses  long  before  any  other  nation, 
and  it  is  possible  the  Arabians  obtained  it  from  the 
Chinese,  as  the  Arabian  name  for  the  compass  is 
a foreign  word,  while  the  Chinese  compass  is  called 


14 


“ Ting-nan-ching,” — needle  pointing  to  the  south, 
the  direction  in  which  the  needle  of  their  compass 
points. 

The  Chinese,  probably,  first  knew  the  art  of 
making  gunpowder,  but  they  seem  to  have  refrained 
from  the  cruel  and  deadly  use  of  it  that  character- 
ized occidental  nations. 

Of  all  countries,  China  takes  the  lead  in  the 
education  of  her  male  population.  An  unedu- 
cated Chinaman  is  rare.  No  man  can  hold  office 
under  the  government  without  first  passing  suc- 
cessfully a competitive  examination  in  their  clas- 
sics. This  fact  has  been  a great  stimulus  to 
popular  education.  By  their  education  we  do 
not  mean  anything  as  wide  and  varied  as  by  educa- 
tion in  Germany,  or  England,  or  America,  but  an 
accpiaintance  with  their  own  classics.  A larger  pro- 
portion of  the  men  of  China  can  read  and  write 
than  of  the  men  of  any  other  country. 

If  we  compare  the  Chinese  v7ith  other  heathen 
nations,  they  have  more  strength  of  intellect,  a 
higher  degree  of  education,  more  solidity  of  char- 
acter, and  a more  advanced  civilization.  Knowlton, 
who  labored  years  among  them,  says  (in  his  prize 
tract)  “ that  they  stand  superior  to  all  other  East- 
ern races,  in  practical  wisdom  and  common  sense, 


15 


in  physical,  moral,  and  intellectual  vigor.”  W.  F. 
Stevenson,  after  his  recent  missionary  tour  round  the 
world,  claims  “ that  the  mind  of  China  is  probably 
as  vigorous  and,  within  its  limits,  as  keenly  active 
to-day  as  that  of  any  European  people.” 

3.  Religion  and  morals. — There  are  three  types 
of  religion  in  China.* 

Taou-ism,  which  took  its  rise  600  b.c.,  a con- 
glomerate of  mysticism,  philosophy,  sorcery,  and 
superstition. 

Buddhism,  which  was  introduced  from  India  in 
the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era,  which  com- 
bined with  certain  popular  elements  of  Taou-ism, 
and  spread  rapidly. 

Confucianism,  a system  formulated  by  Confucius 
500  years  b.c.  It  was  not  a new  religion,  but  the 
putting  into  shape  the  convictions  and  doctrines  of 
ages.  To  these  were  added  the  ethical  teachings  of 
Confucius  after  his  death.  These  consist  of  the 
“ Five  Virtues”  and  the  duties  and  obligations  of 
the  “ Five  Relations.”  By  the  “ five  virtues”  are 
meant  “ benevolence,  righteousness,  propriety, 
knowledge,  and  faith.”  By  the  “five  relations” 


* Mohammedanism  has  also  had  a large  following,  but  has  not  been 
a national  religion  in  the  sense  that  the  three  named  have,  which 
are  often  all  held  by  the  same  person. 


16 


are  meant  those  subsisting  between  the  emperor 
and  his  officers,  between  father  and  son,  between 
husband  and  wife,  between  brothers,  and  between 
friends. 

Confucianism  teaches  a severe  morality,  and  the 
profoundest  respect  for  authority,  and  reverence 
for  parents.  There  are  some  points  of  likeness  be- 
tween it  and  the  code  of  the  Hebrews,  but  it  falls 
immeasurably  beneath  it  in  all  the  sublime  concep- 
tions of  God, — the  universal  Divine  moral  govern- 
ment, and  redemption  through  Christ. 

All  the  religions  of  China  have  no  salvation  for 
sinners  ! They  know  nothing  of  a Saviour,  infinite 
in  love  and  almighty  in  power,  to  rescue  from  sin 
and  death  the  children  of  men. 

The  Chinese  are  a temperate  people,  scarcely 
knowing  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  and  a drunken 
Chinaman  in  his  own  country  is  a rare  sight. 

The  two  social  curses  of  China  are — 

(1.)  The  low  position  of  woman,  and  (2)  The  use  of 
opium. 

Woman  in  China  is  the  slave  of  man,  as  she  is 
everywhere  in  the  East.  Her  lot  is  similar  to  that 
in  India  and  Syria  and  all  Mohammedan  lands. 
Her  life  is  only  a cruel  service  to  man’s  need  or 
passion.  Among  the  poorer  classes  infanticide  of 


17 


female  children  prevails  to  some  extent,  though  not 
so  generally  as  has  been  popularly  assumed. 

The  use  of  opium  is  alarmingly  prevalent,  and 
the  source  of  widespread  distress.  The  Chinese 
have  taken  to  it  greedily,  and  the  habitual  use  of 
it  so  weakens  the  will  and  beclouds  the  intellect 
that  it  is  not  easily  broken. 

But  Christian  men  ought  not  to  speak  about  the 
opium  curse  of  China  without  a blush  of  shame 
mantling  their  cheeks,  for  a Christian  nation  en- 
tailed that  curse,  and  fastened  it  on  China  by  a 
bloody  war.  The  Chinese  government  has,  from  the 
first,  strenuously  opposed  the  traffic  in  this  deadly 
drug,  and  at  the  very  last  revision  of  its  treaties 
sought  to  revoke  and  abolish  all  the  rights  of  its 
importation.  But  Christian  England — glorious,  old, 
inconsistent,  Christian  England — must  have  a ready 
market  for  the  produce  of  her  great  Indian  poppy- 
beds,  and  the  sixty  million  dollars  which  China  pays 
for  it  must  not  be  sacrificed  to  sentiment.  Ah ! the 
Christian  world  must  have  money,  even  if  the  poor 
heathen  be  destroyed  by  the  getting  of  it.  God  pity 
them,  and  pardon  us  ! 

4.  The  overcrowded  condition  of  China  Proper. — 
In  round  numbers,  her  population  is  four  hundred 
millions  (400,000,000),  i.  e.,  an  average  of  over  300 


18 


to  the  square  mile.  In  some  of  the  provinces  the 
population  has  a higher  average  ; as,  Shantung,  540 
to  the  square  mile;  Chek-Kiang,  670;  Nganhwui, 
725;  Kiang-Su,  832. 

China  is  a land  of  great  cities.  Foochow  and 
Pekin  each  run  uj)  toward  two  millions  of  inhabit- 
ants. Canton  has  a million  and  a half,  and  cities  of 
half  a million  are  simply  too  numerous  to  mention. 
Seven  hundred  miles  back  from  the  coast,  in 
Hoonan,  is  a city  with  a population  of  more  than  a 
million  packed  into  an  area  of  five  miles  by  three. 
China  has  more  than  fifteen  hundred  walled  cities, 
one  of  which  (an  example  of  all)  governs  eight 
hundred  and  eighty  towns  and  villages.  An  almost 
incredible  number  of  Chinese  live  in  little  boats  on 
the  rivers  and  lakes  beside  the  cities.  Here  they 
were  born,  here  was  their  play-ground,  here  they 
grew  to  maturity,  and  here  shall  they  die,  on  this 
narrow,  floating,  box-like  home. 

The  influence  of  this  overcrowded  condition  has 
been  to  teach  economy.  China  has  reduced  living 
expenses  to  the  minimum.  300 — 500  or  800  people 
to  the  square  mile  make  either  low  prices  or  starva- 
tion— sometimes  both.  House  rent  is  quite  reason- 
able. The  soil  is  worked  up  to  the  highest  pro- 
ducing power  of  the  square  inch.  A Chinaman 


19 


can  get  as  much  comfort  out  of  a garden  with  the 
area  of  an  ordinary  city  lot  as  an  American  farmer 
out  of  a quarter  of  a section  of  government  land. 

John  Chinaman  has  simple  tastes.  He  has 
learned  to  control  his  appetite.  He  does  not  in- 
dulge  in  half  a dozen  courses  at  dinner,  washed 
down  with  sherry  or  champagne.  He  has  one  dish 
for  breakfast,  one  for  dinner,  one  for  supper,  and 
usually  rice  all  three. 

But,  somehow,  this  severe  economy  and  simple 
diet  have  made  him  hardy.  He  is  not  ponderous 
in  flesh  nor  formidable  in  appearance,  but  he  has 
endurance,  and  can  live  where  even  our  boasted 
Anglo-Saxon  race  must  die.  Heat  and  cold  are 
alike  to  him.  He  is  insensible  to  ordinary  pain,  he 
seems  to  have  parted  company  with  his  nerves 
(that  American  luxury),  and  as  for  dyspepsia,  it 
does  not  even  belong  to  his  order  of  civilization. 

We  talk  much  of  compulsory  education  in  this 
age.  Five  hundred  people  to  the  square  mile  has 
been  the  stern  schoolmaster  that  has  taught  China, 
by  a compulsory  education  that  none  of  her  children 
could  shirk,  the  lessons  of  economy,  thrift,  and 
temperance.  And  by  that  training  her  children  go 
into  the  markets  of  the  world,  and  underbid  the 
cheapest  labor  of  Europe,  and  -astonish  America  by 


20 


closer  calculations  than  a native-born  Yankee  can 
make.  As  some  one  has  said,  “ You  can  never  com- 
pete in  low  prices  with  a man  who  drinks  no  liquor, 
lives  on  rice,  and  can  sleep  on  a board.”  Carlyle 
said,  “ The  world  ought  to  go  to  school  to  China  to 
learn  stability  of  government  and  filial  obedience.” 
But,  verily,  there  are  other  valuable  lessons  we 
might  learn  of  her. 

III.  THE  DRIFT  OF  PROVIDENCE. 

What  is  the  meaning  of  that  Providence  which 
confronts  American  Christianity  one  hundred  years 
old  with  China  four  thousand  years  old?  For 
Providence  is  behind  it ! The  same  Divine  hand  that 
guided  the  “Mayflower,”  with  its  Puritan  freight,  to 
Plymouth  Rock,  on  the  East,  holds  the  helm  of  the 
steamship  crowded  with  the  children  of  China, 
entering  the  Golden  Gate  at  the  West.  The  God 
that  heard  the  cry  of  the  sufferers  then  trodden 
down  by  the  oppressor,  hears  the  cry  of  the  sufferers 
now  trodden  down  by  the  rushing  crowds  of  their 
fellows  and  ground  by  the.  cruel  heel  of  hunger. 
“ The  earth  is  the  Lord’s,  and  the  fulness  thereof 
the  world,  and  they  that  dwell  therein.”  And  He 
will  send  his  children  where  they  may  find  at  once 
“ their  daily  bread  ” and  “ heaven’s  bread.”  And 
you  and  I may  hinder  them  at  our  peril  only. 


21 


Great  facts  mark  the  drift  of  Providence. 

1.  The  exodus  of  the  Chinese. — In  1848,  two  men 
and  one  woman  from  China  landed  in  California. 
In  1878,  thirty  years  after,  there  are  sixty  thousand 
Chinese  in  San  Francisco.  Two  hundred  thousand 
on  the  Pacific  coast.  On  December  31,  1866,  twelve 
years  ago,  the  line  of  steamships  that  ply  from  the 
Bay  of  San  Francisco  to  the  Bay  of  Yeddo  was 
opened.  And  year  by  year  the  register  of  incoming 
passengers  with  strange-sounding  names  has  grown 
larger.  Our  brother  from  beside  the  Yellow  Sea 
heard  we  had  work  to  do,  clothes  to  wash,  food  to 
cook,  lands  to  drain,  gold  to  dig,  railroads  to  build, 
that  we  paid  money  for  having  these  things  done, 
and  that  there  was  much  food  to  eat,  and  so  he 
came  over  to  help  us  and  himself  at  the  same  time. 
And  so  we  welcomed  him,  and  thought  it  a great 
thing  to  meet  our  strange  kindred  from  the  country, 
or  rather  from  the  city,  for  our  cities  are  rural 
villages  besides  his. 

But  suddenly  we  have  grown  suspicious  of  him, 
and  we  tell  him,  through  newspapers,  and  even  by 
vote  of  Congress,  that  we  don’t  want  him  here  any 
longer,  and  that  he  had  better  go  home  again.* 


*The  new  Constitution  of  California  forbids  the  employment  o 
Chinese  by  any  corporation. 


22 


What  is  the  matter  ? What  has  he  done  ? 

He  has  done  several  things. 

Cook  tell  us  “ that  the  Chinaman  hung  on  the 
slippery  sides  of  the  Sierra  Nevadas,  and  tunnelled 
them  to  let  the  Southern  Pacific  Railroad  through. 

“That  he  went  down  to  his  waist  in  the  mud, 
when  San  Francisco  was  threatened  with  inundation, 
and  saved  it  by  building  levees,  when  no  other  man 
would  take  the  peril.” 

“ His  labor  on  the  great  railways  has  raised  the 
price  of  wheat-lands  in  California  from  one  to 
twenty-five  dollars  per  acre.” 

Clement  Babb  tells  us  that  the  Chinaman  has 
supplied  all  along  the  Pacific  coast  the  imperative 
need  of  house-servants  at  reasonable  wages. 

The  government  receipts  show  that  he  has  paid 
five  millions,  annually,  of  “ taxation  without  repre- 
sentation,” and  has  not  spoiled  our  tea  trade  for  it, 
either. 

The  railroad  reports  show  that  yonder  among  the 
snow-sheds  of  the  Western  mountains  he  has 
watched  the  switches,  and  been  found  frozen  dead, 
with  his  hand  on  the  turning-bar,  but  has  never 
been  found  there  dead-drunk. 

And  is  it  for  these  things  that  his  villages  have 
been  burned,  cruel  quit-notices  served  on  him, 


inordinate  licenses  and  taxes  imposed  on  his  humble 
trade,  with  occasional  affectionate  demonstrations 
of  pistol  and  bludgeon  and  halter  ? 

“On  May  1,  1876,  the  village  of  Antioch  was 
burned,  and  its  Chinese  population  warned  off  under 
penalty  of  death  in  twenty-four  hours.”  Again 
and  again  have  these  humble  laborers  been  shot 
down  in  cold  blood  in  the  streets,  the  fields,  the 
mines. 

Why  is  this  ? There  are  two  reasons. 

1.  The  Chinaman  will  work. 

2.  The  Chinaman  can’t  vote. 

Persuade  him  to  give  up  his  industrious  habits 
to  join  in  strikes,  to  unite  with  labor-leagues  (the 
leagues  that  prevent  labor),  and  not  a hoodlum  on 
the  sand-lots  but  will  spring  to  arms  in  his  defense. 

Give  him  a vote  (I  do  not  say  it  would  be  the 
best  thing  to  do),  and  both  great  political  parties 
will  woo  him  as  furiously  as  rival  lovers.  Two 
hundred  thousand  ballots  are  no  feather-weight 
when  the  scales  draw  down  for  Congress  or  the 
Presidential  chair. 

But  the  Chinaman  is  a heathen ! True.  And  this 
is  a Christian  land.  There  is  light  here,  and  by 
the  grace  of  God  light  is  greater  than  darkness.  I 
have  no  more  fear  of  the  shadow  of  Buddhism  than 


24 


I have  of  the  shadow  of  the  Vatican,  and  the  colder 
shadow  of  Continental  Atheism,  that,  falling  west- 
ward across  the  Atlantic,  strike,  with  their  mingled 
darkness,  our  shores.  This  nation  will  never  be 
Heathen,  Atheistic,  or  Papal. 

But  the  Chinaman  will  reduce  the  price  of  labor 
below  living  rates ! 

Never  fear ; he  will  learn  to  take  all  he  can  get. 
Our  civilization  will  teach  him  new  tastes  and  de- 
sires,— more  luxurious  habits.  Increase  of  expenses 
will  produce  increase  in  the  price  of  labor.  He’ll 
level  up  fast,  or  he  is  not  a son  of  Adam. 

But  the  Chinaman  establishes  opium  saloons, 
brings  leprosy  with  him,  and  the  vices  of  the  Chinese 
women  are  simply  horrible ! 

Well,  we  are  a Christian  peojile,  and  yet  there 
are  in  our  cities  drinking-houses  by  the  thousands, 
lepers  of  lust  rotting  in  our  almshouses,  and 
countless  brothels  filled  with  women  not  a whit 
better  than  the  fallen  daughters  of  Asia.  Are  we 
better  in  our  vices  than  are  they  ? By  the  Cross  of 
Christ  and  the  Word  of  Truth  we  may  lift  these 
women  from  their  deep  degradation,  and  teach  these 
men  to  dream  brighter  dreams  than  the  delusive 
drug  brings  to  heart  and  brain. 

But  if  we  do  not  stop,  or  at  least  check,  the  rapid 


25 


■immigration  of  the  Chinese,  they  will  overrun  us  !— 
Such  a conclusion  is  by  no  means  foregone. 
Much  may  be  said  on  both  sides  of  the  question. 
The  tendency  of  any  great  national  diaspora  is  to 
run  on  rapidly  until  it  exhausts  itself ; and  espe- 
cially when  it  is  of  the  nature  of  a great  reactionary 
movement  as  against  the  inbred  exclusiveness  of 
this  race.  We  may  rest  assured,  upon  well-known 
laws,  that  the  outflowing  currents  of  human  life 
from  China  will  not  be  in  little,  insignificant 
streams,  but  great  tides,  broad  and  deep  with 
world-wide  interest  and  meaning. 

The  possibility  of  the  recurrence  of  such  famines 
as  have  been  experienced  recently  in  the  central 
and  northern  provinces,  destroying  millions  of  lives, 
tends  to  quicken  and  accelerate  emigration  when 
once  it  has  begun.  Satan’s  estimate  of  the  value 
man  puts  on  his  life  will  doubtless  hold  as  good 
in  the  ancient  land  of  Sinim  as  in  the  ancient  land 
of  Uz.  Under  the  apprehension  of  such  scenes  of 
physical  suffering  and  universal  hunger  as  come 
to  their  overcrowTded  land,  in  the  contingencies  of  a 
drouth  or  failure  of  the  crops,  many  of  the  Chi- 
nese will  doubtless  seek  temporary  and  permanent 
homes  in  other  lands,  even  at  the  expense  of  their 
ancestral  customs  and  historic  associations. 


26 


The  character  of  our  “ own  country”  and  its 
popular  institutions,  with  the  facility  and  directness 
of  transportation,  will  naturally  draw  a large,  per- 
haps the  larger,  portion  of  Chinese  emigrants  to 
our  shores. 

The  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  is  one  of  the 
assured  facts  of  a near  future.  The  terminus  of 
that  railroad  will  be  a point  on  the  coast  of  Ore- 
gon. The  completion  of  that  railroad  wTill  assure 
another  Pacific  steamship  line.  “ The  sailing  circle 
from  the  coast  of  Oregon  to  Saghalien,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Amoor,  is  a thousand  miles  shorter  than  from 
the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  to  the  Bay  of  Yeddo, 
the  terminus  of  the  present  steamship  route.”  This 
all  means  stimulated  immigration. 

But  other  important  facts  bearing  on  this  ques- 
tion are  to  be  taken  into  consideration : 

The  distribution  of  the  Chinese  is  going  on  in 
other  directions.  The  East  India  and  South  Paci- 
fic Islands  are  already  drawing  them  by  thousands 
and  ten  thousands.  In  a pamphlet  issued  by  the 
English  residents  of  Shanghai  we  are  informed  of 
a large  yearly  emigration  from  China  to  all  the 
great  tropical  islands  that  lie  nearest  the  equator. 
It  is  a well-known  fact  that  the  natives  of  Java, 
Sumatra,  Borneo,  Timor,  and  the  Philippine 


27 


Islands  are  dying  out  rapidly  before  civilization. 
The  Anglo-Saxon  cannot  live  there ; but  the  China- 
man can,  and  there  he  is  going. 

He  is  entering  Australia,  too, — in  its  northern 
parts  so  long  undeveloped  by  England,  because  she 
could  not  command  laborers  to  drain  its  mighty 
marshes,  rich  in  all  the  elements  of  fertility. 

New  Zealand,  too,  lias  already  a large  Chinese 
population,  as  shown  by  the  census  of  March,  1878. 
Practically,  large  portions  of  these  great  islands  are 
as  yet  untouched.  They  lie  waiting  for  a people 
who  can  endure  the  heat  and  rigor  of  their  climate. 

In  the  southern  part  of  Australia  a rapidly  grow- 
ing English-speaking  population  has  its  home ; but  it 
will  not,  it  cannot,  spread  to  the  north.  But  here 
millions  of  Asiatics  might  find  a home,  and  rice  could 
be  grown  in  the  swamps  and  along  the  great  rivers 
for  their  food.  Its  vast  mineral  resources  would 
be  rapidly  developed  by  them,  and,  in  view  of  all 
the  facts,  “it  is  (as  Julius  Vogel  writes,  in  the 
Princeton  Review  of  March,  p.  461,  1879)  simply 
impossible  that  tropical  Australia  can  remain  un- 
tenanted, whilst  tropical  Asia  is  so  overcrowded 
with  a famine-stricken  population.” 

The  Chinaman  will  pass  into  Russia,  t)0.  While 
the  extreme  northern  parts  of  the  Russian  empire 


28 


are  too  cold  and  bleak  for  the  races  born  and  bred 
in  the  south,  yet  there  are  parts  of  Russia  in  which 
the  Chinaman  of  the  northern  provinces  could  live 
as  readily  as  in  Mantchuria  or  Mongolia,  into 
which,  as  well  as  Thibet,  they  are  spreading.*  It 
seems  almost  impossible  that  the  surplus  of  China 
should  not,  to  some  extent,  escape  northward  as 
well  as  southward  ; that  the  Russian  empire,  with 
its  seven  millions  of  square  miles,  and  less  than  twelve 
people  to  the  square  mile,  should  not  drain  a little 
the  overstock  of  China.  Africa,  too,  that  fast-solv- 
ing geographical  problem  of  centuries,  may  be  God’s 
opportunity  for  overcrowded  Asia.  If  the  China- 
man can  live  in  Borneo,  he  can  live  on  the  banks  of 
the  Congo ; and  the  climate  of  upper  Egypt  does 
not  differ  very  much  from  that  of  lower  China. 

This  is  but  a contingency  which  we  suggest ; but 
what  is  there  to  render  it  impossible  that  in  1900 
a.d.  the  feet  of  the  Chinese  laborer  should  be 
treading  in  the  paths  of  Livingstone  and  Stanley, 
and  fulfilling  the  glorious  prophecy  of  their  dis- 
coveries ? 

So  far  as  the  danger  of  our  country  being  over- 
run by  the  Chinese  is  concerned,  I,  for  one,  am  not 


♦There  are  also  Chinese  colonies  in  Siam,  but  the  countries  washed 
by  the  Indian  Ocean  are  already  teeming  full. 


29 


greatly  alarmed.  The  laws  of  demand  and  supply 
will  regulate  their  incoming,  and  when  we  take 
into  account  our  resources  and  their  possible  de- 
velopment, it  does  not  look  probable  that  we  shall 
have,  or  can  have,  at  any  near  time,  too  many 
people  in  this  country. 

Besides,  there  is  a peculiar  fact,  that  in  Chinese 
immigration  there  is  always  an  ebb,  a refluent  tide 
seeking  the  celestial  fatherland.  The  Chinaman 
comes  to  this  country  with  a specific  purpose, — to 
make  money,  amass  a little  fortune, — and  when 
that  is  accomplished,  he  goes  back  to  enjoy  it  in  his 
own  land  and  among  his  own  people.  It  will  not 
always  be  the  case.  As  with  the  East-India  traders, 
who  went  out  to  speculate,  and  staid,  because  they 
learned  to  love  the  land  in  which  they  made  their 
wealth,  so  it  will  be  with  these  Asiatic  laborers  ulti- 
mately. But  not  until  long  contact  with  our  insti- 
tutions and  civilization  has  acclimated  them  morally, 
socially,  and  intellectually.  And  until  this  change 
takes  place,  we  must  calculate  on  this  backward- 
flowing tide  as  the  relief  from  any  nightmare  fears 
of  being  overrun  by  these  social  Vandals  and  Goths 
from  Asia. 

The  fears  of  an  overwhelming  and  uncontrollable 
flux  of  Chinamen  to  this  country  are  stimulated  in 


30 


certain  sections,  if  they  were  not  originally  created, 
for  a political  purpose.  And  it  is  remarkable,  at 
least,  that  the  Church  of  Christ,  of  all  denomina- 
tions, recognizing  the  importance  of  this  question  in 
its  providential  and  evangelical  aspects,  has  stood 
strongly  against  the  one-sided  prejudices  of  political 
partisanship.  Those  were  brave  words  spoken  in 
the  discussion  of  this  question,  in  the  Canadian 
Parliament,  by  the  ex-Premier,  and  they  apjdy  to 
the  question  in  this  country,  too  : “ The  exclusion 
of  the  Chinese  is  against  the  genius  of  our  country 
and  the  laws  of  nations.” 

2.  The  growing  importance  of  the  East. — Look  over 
the  whole  Continent  of  Asia  and  you  can  scarcely 
put  your  finger  upon  a land  which  is  not  to-day 
the  theater  of  great  movements  and  significant 
events.  The  Eastern  horizon  all  round  is  ablaze 
with  lightning.  Northern  Asia  on  the  eve  of  a 
gigantic  social  revolution.  Central  Asia  troubled 
in  her  relation  to  Great  Britain,  and  Russia  behind 
the  curtain,  with  her  sword  but  half-way  in  the 
scabbard,  biding  her  day  of  vengeance.  W estern  Asia, 
with  “ the  sick  man  ” on  her  hands,  “ neither  killed 
yet,  nor  cured  ” by  the  political  doctors  of  Europe. 
Southern  Asia  witnessing,  in  India,  one  of  the  most 
marvelous  triumphs  of  the  gospel  of  which  history  has 


31 


yet  had  knowledge.  Eastern  Asia  passing  through 
a transformation  in  Japan  as  swift  and  wonderful 
as  some  vision  of  the  night.  And  in  China  a move- 
ment the  inception  of  which  we  may  trace,  but  the 
possible  results  of  which  are  too  great  and  far-reach- 
ing for  speculation.  Now  with  the  lands  of  the 
East  that  look  out  on  the  waters  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  we  have  already  and  are  bound  to  have  more 
and  more  intimate  relations.  The  keels  of  our 
commerce  cut  that  quiet  sea.  In  1852,  in  the  Senate 
of  the  United  States,  in  perhaps  the  great  speech  of 
his  life,  AVilliam  H.  Seward  said,  “ Who  does  not  see, 
that  every  year  hereafter,  European  commerce, 
European  politics,  European  thoughts,  and  Euro- 
pean activity,  although  actually  gaining  greater 
force,  and  European  connections,  although  actu- 
ally becoming  more  intimate,  will,  nevertheless,  ulti- 
mately sink  in  importance,  while  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
its  shores,  its  islands,  and  the  vast  regions  beyond, 
will  become  the  chief  theater  of  events  in  the 
world’s  great  hereafter.” 

On  the  18th  of  April,  1879,  the  commercial  dis- 
patches state  that  American  commerce  is  supreme 
in  China  and  Japan,  the  great  Pacific  ports  and 
shores. 

We  drew  a line  of  prophecy  eastward  from 


32 


Jerusalem  to  Pekin.  We  found  the  two  cities  be- 
tween the  great  lines  of  latitude  30°  to  40°  north. 
Draw  another  line  from  New  York,  our  Eastern 
metropolis,  to  San  Francisco,  our  Western  metro- 
polis. Extend  it  round  the  globe.  It  is  the  line  of 
40°  latitude  north ; it  almost  cuts  in  twain  Pekin, 
the  capital  of  Eastern  Asia,  and  Constantinople 
yonder,  looking  out  on  two  seas,  sitting  like  a 
queen,  between  Europe  and  Western  Asia,  and 
waiting  to  be  crowned  as  a queen  with  her  ancient 
diadem. 

That  is  the  line  along  which  the  eyes  of  the 
world  and  the  Church  look  to-day  : it  is  the  line  of 
great  religious  and  political  movements,  the  line  of 
commerce,  the  line  of  missions,  the  line  of  Prov- 
idence, 

3.  India  and  China  touch  at  the  Himalayas. — God 
has  put  heathen  India  into  the  care  of  Christian 
England.  It  looks  as  though  God  was  about  to 
put  heathen  China  into  the  care  of  Christian 
America. 

Christianized  India  and  Christianized  China  mean 
a belt,  a zone  of  Christianity  round  the  world ; for 
Christian  England  and  Christian  America  touch  on 
the  other  side  in  all  possible  relations.  Four  great 
hands  encircling  the  globe  for  Christ ! Do  you  take 


33 


in  the  scope  of  that  possibility?  It  means,  perhaps, 
the  millenium!  But  Christian  England  and  Chris- 
itan  America  must  be  faithful,  that  such  a glorious 
result  may  be. 

IV.  THE  CHRISTIANIZATION  OF  CHINA  HAS  BEGUN. 

Neander,  the  great  church  historian,  said,  in  1850, 
but  eight  days  before  his  death,  “ When  Christianity 
obtains  the  freedom  of  the  Chinese  empire,  it  will  be 
far  on  its  way  to  the  conquest  of  the  world.”  Christian- 
ity in  1879  has  the  freedom  of  the  Chinese  empire. 

Chinese  exclusion  is  giving  way. — It  is  fast  being 
honeycombed  with  liberal  ideas.  A foreigner  can 
travel  from  end  to  end  of  the  empire.  Popular 
and  scientific  magazines  are  beginning  to  circulate 
among  the  better  educated.  Histories  of  other 
nations  are  being  introduced  and  read.  Young 
men  of  promise  are  being  sent  from  China  to  our 
American  and  European  colleges,  that  they  may 
be  educated  at  the  public  expense  for  positions  of 
trust  at  home.  A system  of  Chinese  consulates  is 
just  being  established.*  Steamships  now  ply  up  and 
down  the  rivers  of  China  ;f.  railroads  and  telegraphs 
are  but  a question  of  time. 


* On  the  basis  of  the  most  approved  European  plans, 
f These  steamship  lines  are  owned  by  natives,  wholly  or  in  part,  sis 
are  also  many  of  the  leading  trading  and  shipping  houses. 


34 


Missions  are  'penetrating  the  interior. — There  are 
six  great  American  and  six  great  European  mission 
organizations  at  work  in  China.  Their  stations 
have  of  necessity  been  in  the  great  cities  of  the 
coast,  but  now  they  are  fast  pushing  their  lines  into 
the  heart  of  the  empire.  W.  F.  Stevenson  writes, 
in  the  Catholic  Presbyterian  of  January,  “ that  he 
was  told  by  a missionary  in  China,  who  had  re- 
cently traveled  as  far  north  as  the  river  Amoor, 
that  he  there  found  biblical  catechisms  in  the 
houses,  introduced  by  the  Russians  from  the  other 
side  of  the  river.”  As  though  two  tunneling  parties, 
working  from  opposite  sides,  should  meet  under 
some  hitherto  impassable  mountain. 

The  vantage-ground  which  Japan  affords  from , 
ivhich  to  reach  China. — Japan,  with  its  thirty-five 
millions,  has  virtually  made  choice  of  Christian 
civilization.  Our  steamships  land  at  its  wharves — 
the  Japanese  wear  our  clothes — buy  daily  news- 
papers at  a news  stand — have  cabs  rolling  through 
their  streets,  and  railroads  and  telegraphs  across 
their  islands. 

The  government  supports  a university  at  Tokio, 
manned  by  American  and  English  professors.  Japan 
is  already  re-civilized,  and  her  influence  on  China 
will  be  simply  incalculable.  The  Japanese  Islands 
are  God’s  outworks  for  taking  China. 


35 


The  United  States  has  such  access,  and  bears  such 
relations  to  China,  as  make  it  incumbent  on  American 
Christianity  to  accept  the  Chinese  as  God's  trust. — 
We  have  no  right  to  refuse  it.  We  have  no  right 
to  shut  our  doors  against  them.  We  have  pro- 
claimed ourselves  to  be  the  friends  and  brothers 
of  all  men,  and  our  land  the  home  of  wanderers. 
We  have  cried  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  that  we 
“ had  bread,  and  to  spare,”  for  the  hungry,  freedom 
for  the  oppressed,  and  a resting-place  for  the  weary. 
Why  shall  we  make  a cruel  exception  of  these  the 
most  hungry,  the  most  oppressed,  the  weariest 
wayfarers  that  ever  yet  stood  at  our  doors  ? Ah  ! 
if  we  drive  them  out,  let  us  be  consistent.  Let  us 
call  back  our  missionaries  from  Africa,  Asia,  the 
Islands  of  the  Sea ; let  us  stretch  iron  cables  across 
our  harbor-mouths,  and  borrow  specifications  of  the 
great  Chinese  wall,  that  we  may  build  one  like  it 
round  our  sea-coast;  let  us  close  our  free  churches 
and  free  schools,  burn  up  that  starry  banner, 
which  has  been  an  evangel  of  hope  in  the  eyes  of  the 
nations,  and  flaunt  a black  flag  in  its  place. 

Can  this  thing  be  ? I trow  not.  God  may  turn 
the  forward-going  shadow  of  progress  back  on  the 
dial-plate  of  time,  but  we  may  not. 

The  evangelization  of  China  is  not  to  be  stopped 


36 


by  the  political  filibustering  of  any  Congress,  or 
the  mad  edict  of  any  red-handed  mob ; not  while 
God  is  on  the  throne,  and  there  is  a sense  of  justice 
in  the  American  heart.  Our  treatment  of  the 
Chinese  should  make  forever  impossible  that  biting 
satire  that  found  a recent  utterance:  “The  United 
States  vindicates  her  claim  of  universal  brotherhood 
by  enslaving  her  black-skinned  brother ; waging  war 
on  her  red-skinned  brother ; and  driving  out  her 
yellow-skinned  brother !” 

What  shall  we  do  with  the  Chinaman? 

Teach  him  the  English  language:  he  wants  to 
learn  it. 

Teach  him  the  story  of  the  cross:  we  never 
found  a more  patient  listener  than  he.  Give  him 
fair  play:  he  has  a right  to  it.  He  is  a man,  and 
has  a soul. 

Make  him  know  that  our  Christian  civilization 
is  far  better  than  his  hoary  but  heartless,  Christ- 
less,  Godless  civilization.  Then  we  shall  fulfill 
God’s  trust,  when  He  sends  Asia  to  learn  the 
gospel  in  America,  and  convert  our  Golden  Gate 
into  the  door  of  “the  Kingdom  of  Heaven”  for 
China ! 


* 


